An Uncertain Peace

Enforcing the Treaty of Versailles France attempted to enforce the Versailles settlement vigorously Proved very difficult Many in Europe preferred to rely on the new League of Nations for collective security The League lacked enforcement mechanism as well key membership

Countries not in the League Germany The Soviet Union The United States

France turned to the less satisfactory alternative of allying with new Eastern European democracies Formed a Little Entente with Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Romania

Democracy in Eastern Europe Short lived trend toward democracy after World War I Women earned the right to vote Labor unions gained power Governments enacted social legislation Some countries experienced democracy for the first time

Conservative interests opposed the new democracies Extreme socialists worked to overthrow them Land reform, which was a great social change, failed to solve the problem of underdevelopment New democracies lacked the integrated economies they had experienced as part of former empires

The Weimar Republic Began with 2 strikes against it Faced a myriad of economic and social problems Many influential Germans opposed the new government as a weak substitute for imperial Germany Extremist groups attempted to overthrow the government

Two parties helped found the republic and draw up its constitution – the Social Democratic Party and the Catholic Center Party Both wished to avoid communist and rightist takeovers In 1919, the Spartacists attempted to overthrow the Berlin city government Captured and executed

In 1920, the Freikorps attempted a coup d’etat known as the Kapp Putsch Intervention by the working class saved the republic

Delegates to the Reichstag were chosen by proportional representation The system made it difficult to establish majority government and easier for extreme views to gain a political voice In times of imminent danger, the president of the republic could suspend parliamentary rule

Most damaging to the Weimar Republic was its association with the Versailles settlement Germans viewed it as a dictated peace Myth said that the Germans were on the verge of winning WWI when it was stabbed in the back by those who wished to establish a republic in Germany Right wing groups used the Weimar as the scapegoat for the country’s problems

Reparations, the Ruhr and Hyperinflation In 1923, the Weimar Republic fell behind on its reparation payments France invaded the Ruhr Valley to get payment in the form of coal and steel Weimar leaders encouraged passive resistance by workers in the area

The Weimar Republic would pay the workers benefits and wages in paper money By November 1923, the German mark had plummeted to catastrophic levels $1 = 4 trillion marks Middle class pensions, savings, insurance policies and interest income had become worthless

Confidence in the Weimar Republic plunged Adolph Hitler and his Nazi Party attempted to overthrow the Bavarian government in the Beer Hall putsch The coup failed Hitler was sentenced to 5 years

Great Britain and the US criticized France for invading the Ruhr The US intervened economically Extended loans to Germany and rescheduled reparation payments in exchange for French withdrawal from the Ruhr Short lived economic revival in Germany Spirit of French and German cooperation

The Spirit of Locarno From 1924 to 1929 produced optimistic hopes of peace and prosperity Moderate leaders were dedicated to resolving disputes through negotiation and diplomacy Gustav Streseman and Aristide Briand engineered the Locarno Pact

Germany recognized its borders as permanent Agreed to revise its eastern borders Germany was allowed into the League of Nations The Kellogg-Brian Pact was signed in 1928 which 65 nations signed that war was not an instrument of international politics

The League of Nations lacked the means to enforce its decisions Collective security proved informal and not binding on any nation